How do you accurately depict a bruise caused by the speaker of a radio smacking into a person’s face? Just hit the person’s face with a radio and see how it looks. If the actor that you’re working with is opposed, which most probably are, just sponge some abrasion-colored red onto the radio and use it to make a print on the victim. Afterwards, go in and enhance the mark with a brush, and add edge marks to indicate swelling. This was supposed to be a very recent injury, so no bruising, just redness, scrapes, and swelling. Use the contours of the actors face to make it seem more realistic.
This was just one of many injuries my kit inflicted upon this actor while filming “Treasury Men in Action” this month in Shorewood Hills. First, he’s hit in the face with a hurling full beer can, then he falls out of a window, rolls down a set of stairs, and has a few kicks from a wingtip landed on his bald skull. Needless to say, I had a good time doing his makeup.
